The Florida Atlantic University Police Department might be the first college campus police agency to partner with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.
FAU bills itself as the most ethnically and culturally diverse institution in the state’s university system. It serves more than 31,000 students on six campuses, including 2,500 foreign students who are here on student visas. Now that its police department has asked to partner with ICE, some students are questioning how that will impact campus life.
“Oh yeah, of course,” responded William Cau, a senior, when I asked him if he was worried about increased campus tension after the police department’s move. “I feel like people wouldn’t be safe on campus, on any campus, not just this one.”
All 67 county sheriffs in Florida have agreed to fully cooperate with Customs and Border Protection to enforce immigration laws. NBC6’s Lorena Inclan reports
FAU police would be able to stop, question, and detain students they believe might be undocumented. It’s part of the ICE 287(g) program, which delegates that authority to local police agencies. The FAU University Police are listed on the ICE website as an agency that has requested the partnership.
That obviously impacts Dreamers, students who are undocumented but grew up in the United States. Exact numbers at FAU are not available, but it’s estimated that up to 6,000 Dreamers currently attend state colleges and universities, paying out-of-state tuition rates.
“It just morally feels wrong, if that makes sense,” said FAU freshman Mariah Knowles.
Will this create a climate of fear on campus?
“Definitely, and a lot of tension,” Knowles said.
“It’s really upsetting, I’m not gonna lie,” said FAU student Kasey Morriset. “Because I feel like everyone deserves to get the education, especially if they’re paying for it, and people just want a better life, that’s all they want.”
The university did not grant our request for an interview, but sent us a statement saying they are just following state policy.
“All state law enforcement agencies are expected to follow the governor’s Feb. 19th directive on working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This includes FAU and all other state university police departments,” the statement said.
“I think they should be able to do whatever they think is necessary,” said freshman Jorris Shephard. “To be able to detain people if they think that they’re not here legally.”
So far, we have not seen any other Florida university police departments follow FAU’s lead. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the program is another example of how Florida is leading the nation in combating illegal immigration.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
